Cotton-cleaning machine.



' l Human I, D. DAVISON.

COTTON CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 1120.11,.1914.

1,179.291 Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

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COTTON CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION- mzn 05c. 11; 1914. 1 179 291 Patented Apr. 1-1, 1916.

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s. 0. DAVISON.

COTTON CLEANING MACHINE.

APFLICATRONHLEO DEC-l7, 1914. 1,179,291

Patented A r, 11, 1916. 4 SHEETS-SHEFT 3.

m rwml 'I'HB COLUMBIA PLANODRAPH CO" WASHINGNN, D- C- D. DA V|SON. COTTON CLEANING MACHINE. Avmpmou FILED 050.12, 1914.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

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ISREAL D. DAVISON', OF SUNNY SIDE, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 W. JJ

STERLING, 0F PATTERSON, TEXAS.

COTTON-CLEANING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pate ted A 11, 1916 Application filed December 17, 1914. Serial No. 877,808.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ISREAL D. DAVISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sunny Side, in the county of Waller and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Cleaning Machines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. I

My invention relates to improvements in machines for handling cotton, and more particularly to such a device for cleaning the same before it is passed through the gin.

It is a well known fact that hard rain storms and likewise wind storms, often deposit a great amount of dust, dirt and even fine gravel and sand upon the cotton plants, and that these materials have very injurious effects upon the gins through which the cotton is passed.

It is the object of my invention, therefore, to provide a comparatively simple machine for thoroughly cleaning the cotton before it is passed to the gin.

In carrying out this object, I employ numerous novel features of constructionhereinafter fully deand combination, scribed and claimed and shown in the drawings where1n:

Figures 1 and 2 are side elevations of a machine constructed in accordance with the invention; Fig. 3 is a central vertical longitudinal section of the machine; Figs. 1 and 5 are vertical transverse sections as seen on the lines 4 -4 and 5 5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken substantially upon the line 66 of Fig. 3; Fig. 7 is a detail vertical section as seen on the plane of the line 77 of Fig. 3; Figs. 8 and 9 are detail views similar to the upper end of Fig. 4, and showing different positions of a pair of valve sheets to be described.

In these drawings, constituting a part of this application, a casing 1 is shown, said casing comprising a pair of upright parallel longitudinal walls 2 which are connected at their rearends by a solid end wall 3,.

while the forward ends are connected by a wall 4 which is provided with a discharge opening which may be closed by a door 5 when desired. As shown in Fig. 3, this door is provided with a spring-6 for yieldably retaining it in closed position, but is. ca-

pable of being held in open position by the provision of a hook 7 which is connected to the door in any suitable manner and which is adapted to be engaged with a keeper 8 which projects forwardly from the casing. The rear end portion of the casing is provlded with and substantially closed by a hood 9 into which a cotton chute 10.

13, while its rear end iscurved downwardly in rear of the casing, is offset laterally and communicates with the interior of a suction fan casing 14, the latter being equipped with a suction fan 15 and with a discharge spout 16 which enters the casing through the lower end of the rear wall 3. By this construction, when suction is created through the pipe 11, by rotation. of the fan 15, all air drawn through by said pipe will be forced from the fan casing through the spout 16, from which it will be directed'in a forcible blast through the entire casing 1, from its rear end to its forward end. Immediatelyv above the chute 10 and slightly in advance thereof, the upper side and the two upright sides of the pipe 11 (which, by the way, is of rectangular construction), are provided with a wire mesh lining 17 which is spaced from these walls by suitable strips or cleats, throughout the major part of-its length, but its front end is bent outwardly into contact with the pipe as seen at 18, while its rear end is provided with a transverse wire mesh partitionv 19. This structure becomes advantageous in a manner to be set forth.

As most clearly seen in Fig. 3, the downturned rear end of the pipe 11 is provided with an inlet 20 which is intermittently opened and closed by the provision of a hinged door 21 which is operated in the manner to bedescribed. Disposed within the casing, at substantially its center, is a transverse partition 22 which is provided with an opening 23, the provision of this partition dividing the casing into a rear receiving compartment 24 and a front cleaning apartment 25, while the front end of, the latter is formed by a second transverse partition 26 which likewise has an opening alining with the opening 23 but of greater size. It will be seen by reference to the drawings, that this partition 26 is spaced a considerable distance in rear of the door 5, and that immediately in advance of this partition, a transverse discharge slot 27 is provided in the bottom of the casing. It will be further seen that a second slot 28 is provided at the rear end of the casing, this slot being formed by the provision of a transverse bar 29 whose opposite ends are secured to the side walls 2.

Secured at its rear end to the bar 29, is a screen wire bottom 30 which extends forwardly therefrom in a horizontal plane, passes through and is secured to the lower wall of the opening 23, and then continues still further forwardly and is secured to the lower horizontal wall of the opening in the partition 26. The portion of the screen between the partitions 22 and 26, is bulged downwardly as seen at 31 and is of coarser mesh than the remainder of the screen.

As illustrated more particularly in Figs. 3 and 5, the portion 31 of the screen 30 constitutes the bottom of the cleaning receptacle 25 while this receptacle is provided with a reticulate top 32 and with a pair of similarly constructed reticulate side walls 33 which are spaced from the adjacent portions of the side walls 2. These walls 33 are spaced inwardly, in order to allow a pluralityof heating and drying pipes 34 to be interposed between the side walls 2 and said side walls 33, whereby cotton passing through the cleaning receptacle may be heated and dried, but may not clog upon the pipes. The pipes 34 are connected, through any appropriate connections, with the upper and lower ends of a steam drum 35 to which steam is supplied through a valved pipe 36, this drum being located directly beneath the rear end of the screen 30 and also serving to produce a drying effect upon the cotton passing through the machine.

Spaced beneath the bottom 31 of the cleaning compartment 25 is a hopper 37 whose lower end is closed by a removable pan 38. whereby any dirt, sand or gravel which may pass through said bottom 31, is trapped in the pan 38, which latter may be removed from time to time to discharge these deposits.

Mounted upon a transverse shaft 39 which extends across the receiving compartment 2-1 and which is located directly beneath the chute 10, is a cotton feeding wheel l0 which is composed of a plurality of spokes constructed and arranged in any appropriate manner. his shaft projects through one of the walls 2 and is provided with two pulleys l1 and 412, the former being driven by a belt 4C3 while the latter drives the fan 15 through the instrumentality of a belt 4:4 which may, if desired, be equipped with a belt tightener as indicated in Fig. 1. The belt l-3 extends forwardly from the pulley ll and passes around a pulley 46 on one end of a transverse shaft l which extends through both side walls 2 and carries a cotton discharging wheel 43 directly in advance of the par tition 26, this wheel being constructed similarly to the wheel e0 before described. The other end of the shaft H is provided with a drive pulley 49 over which a driven belt 50 passes, whereby rotary motion may be imparted to the parts so far described as well as to those now to be described.

Extending transversely through the cleaning compartment 25 and disposed in vertically spaced relation, is a pair of shafts 51 which carry brushes 52, the latter being located within the cleaning receptacle and rotating either in contact with the top and bottom of said compartment, or a slight distance from these members as shown. The uppermost of these shafts 51 is driven by a belt 53 from one end of the shaft 17, while the lower shaft 51 is driven by a belt which passes around pulleys 011 both of said shafts 51 as most clearly seen in Fig.

In addition to the above described fea tures with which the cleaning compartment is equipped, a dust hood 55 having a suitable discharge pipe 56 in which suction may be created, is provided directly above the top 32 of said compartment, whereby all dust which rises through said top may be conveyed from the machine.

For the purpose of controlling the suction through the pipe 11 and for preventing this suction from being created upwardly through the chute 10, the upper end portion of said chute is provided with a pair of flexible Valve sheets 57 which are secured at their upper edges to the side walls of said chute, while their ends are secured to the end walls thereof at their upper edges, the upright edges of the two sheets'57 meet ing as seen at 58 at said end walls, and being secured by suitable fasteners 59 thereto, throughout their height. By this structure, only the lower portions of the flexible sheets 57 are allowed to move upwardly to any extent, whatsoever. This is important, since the moment the fan 15 is rotated and suction is produced in the pipe 11, air will be drawn inwardly through a pair of slots 60 in the chute 10 and thence upwardly in said chute. This upward draft of air in the chute 10, now causes the lower side edges of the valve sheets 57 to travel upwardly and to overlap as seen. at 61 in Fig. 8, thereby causing all suction to be created directly through the pipes 11 and 13. The latter pipe may now be positioned in a load of cotton hauled to the machine from the field, thereby sucking said cotton from the wagon through the pipe 11, in which pipe the movement of the cotton is limited by the partition 19, which will, to some extent, become clogged by the cotton contacting therewith. This clogging, however, does not decrease the efficiency of the machine since suction is still produced through the front and side portions of the lining 17 as will be clearly understood by an inspection of the drawings. thus drawn into the pipe 11 and checked by the partition 19 will descend into the chute 10, where it will remain so long as the suction within the pipe and within the upper end of the chute, is great enough to overcome the weight of the accumulated cotton. Since it is expedient to discharge the cotton from the chute into the receiving compartment 24, at intervals, it likewise becomes expedient to provide means whereby the suction within the pipe and within the upper end of the chute, may be decreased at predetermined intervals. For this purpose, the air inlet opening 20 and the door 21 (hereinbefore mentioned) are provided. This door 21 is hinged at its lower edge and provided with a laterally extending arm 70 at its upper edge (see Figs. 2 and 7) this arm extending into the forked upper end of an upright lever 71 which is fulcrumed between its ends to a bracket 72 which extends rearwardly from a suitable part of the machine, the lower end of said lever 71 being pivoted to a link 73 which extends forwardly therefrom through a suitable guide 71 and which is provided with a depending nose 75. This nose is located in the path of a projection 76 on a rotating wheel 77, the latter being driven by a crossed belt 78 which depends from a pulley on one end of the shaft 39 and over a similar pulley to which the member 77 is secured. By this construction, as the various moving parts of the machine are rotated, the projection 76 contacts with the nose 75, pulls forwardly on the link 73 and rocks the lever 71 around its fulcrum, thereby opening the door 21 against the tension of a spring 79, which spring will close said door as soon as the projection 76 rotates to an amount sufficient to allow it to disengage the nose 7 5.

It will be readily understood that the opening of, the door 21 causes the fan 15 to draw air inwardly through the opening 20 rather than through the entire pipe 11. This opening of the door 21 occurs at a time when considerable cotton C has accumulated above the valve sheets 57 and has moved the same from substantially the position seen in Fig. 4 to that seen in Fig. 8, thereby allowing the weight of the cotton to readily spread these sheets as seen in Fig. 9, to discharge the cotton into the receiving com- I partment 24. It becomes desirable to pro vide means whereby it may be ascertained whether or not the valve sheets 57 are cor- The cotton rectly operating, and for this purpose, the

chute 10 is provided with a number of view openings 80 which are closed by suitable panes of glass. I

The moment the cotton is discharged from the chute 10, it comes in contact with the feeding wheel 40 which rotates in the direc tion of the arrow in Fig. 3 and thereby carries the cotton downwardly until it rests upon the screen 30, where it is acted upon by the blast of air discharged from the spout 16, this blast now moving the cotton forwardly into the cleaning compartment 25, where it is thoroughly brushed and thereby cleaned of all grit, sand, gravel and dust, by the action of the rotating brushes 52. All of the dust thus brushed from the cotton, will be drawn upwardly into the dust hood 55 and discharged through the pipe 56,

while sand and gravel will fall through the Q bottom 31 of the cleaning compartment into the removable pan 38. It often happens, that stones and rocks have become mixed with the cotton in handling the same, and that these are of a size too great to fall through the bottom 31. It therefore be comes expedient to providethe slot 27, since the lowermost brush 51 will force such rocks or stones fromthe bottom 31 after which they will fall through said slot as will be readily understood by aninspection of Fig. 3. The rear slot 28 is provided for a similar purpose,and often discharges such undesirable bodies as soon as the cotton is discharged into the receiving compartment.

As the cleaned cotton is now forced from the cleaning compartment, the discharge wheel 48 which rotates in the direction of the arrow, as seen in Fig. 3, facilitates the discharge thereof into a receptacle 85 at the front of the machine, from which it may be removed through a suction pipe 86 and conveyed to the gin.

When the cotton is dry, the valve in the pipe 36 may be closed and the door 5 may be latched in open position, as seen in Fig. 3, thereby allowing the cotton to pass readily through the machine. If, however, the cotton be damp, the door is normally held closed by its spring 6, and the valve in the pipe 36'is opened to allow steam to pass through the drum 35 and through the heating pipes 34, thereby heating the entire interior of the casing and serving to effectively dry the cotton as it is forced through the scribed.

The structure so far described, is subject to numerous modifications falling within the scope of the invention and, as one of these modifications, I have shown the spout 16 as provided with a Wedge-shaped partition 87 which extends transversely across its end, whereby the blast of air will be split, one of these blasts being directed toward the top of the cleaning compartment while the lower blast is forced directly through the machine. This structure becomes expedient in order that cotton may be so fed through the machine as to allow the upper brush 52 to work in conjunction with the lower brush.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that a comparatively simple machine has been provided for carrying out the objects of the invention, yet that the same constitutes a highly efficient device.

I claim:

1. A machine of the class described comprising a casing including a receiving compartment, and a cleaning compartment communicating therewith, a feeding wheel in the receiving compartment, a cleaning brush in the cleaning compartment, a foraminous bottom for said cleaning compartment,

means for depositing the material to be.

ment for directing the material deposited therein into the cleaning compartment.

2. A machine of the class described comprising a casing including a receiving compartment and a cleaning compartment, means for discharging the material to be cleaned into the receiving compartment, cleaning means in the cleaningcompartment,

and an air blast inlet into said receiving compartment for directing the material deposited therein, into the cleaning compartment.

3. A machine of the class described comprising a casing including a receiving comhis ISREAL DAVISON.

mark l-Vitnesses ROBERT HALL, THOMAS PALMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

